Media information, 26 February 2024.
The music festival for family and friends “LNSO Summer House” will fill the halls of Latgale Embassy GORS with exciting musical events from 23 to 25 August – bringing joy both to connoisseurs of academic music and to those for whom this will be a first encounter with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) and its musical friends.
Symbolically marking the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way, the festival will open on the evening of 23 August with guests – the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and pianist Lukas Geniusas, under conductor Gintaras Rinkevicius. Alongside LNSO musicians, a range of special guests will also perform in the concerts: French soprano Perrine Madoeuf, Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte, singer Liene Skrebinska, “Trio Elpo,” students of the Traditional Music Department of the Janis Ivanovs Rezekne Music School, and a large Latgale ensemble representing symphonic music, choirs, a big band, actors and dancers.
“Audiences have warmly welcomed our festival in Cesis, Ventspils and Rezekne, and in each region we highlight the cultural context characteristic of that place and collaborate with local artists. This year we will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the ‘LNSO Summer House’ festival with a wide-ranging programme at Latgale Embassy GORS. The festival will be opened by our guests – the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra together with the charismatic maestro Gintaras Rinkevicius and the outstanding pianist Lukas Geniusas. Meanwhile, our orchestra’s programmes will feature both golden classics and intriguing premieres, but above all, themes of Latgale in music and collaboration with musicians from Latgale. We look forward with impatience to meeting you at GORS!” says LNSO director Indra Lukina, describing the mood and events of the festival.
The festival will begin on 23 August at 19:00 in the Great Hall, where audiences are invited to the concert “Beethoven’s Fifth and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra.” It will feature the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra under conductor Gintaras Rinkevicius, with soloist pianist Lukas Geniusas. The programme includes Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis’ Preludes (arranged for symphony orchestra), Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The Lithuanian artists’ visit to the festival coincides with the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way.
On the festival’s second day, 24 August at 16:00 in the Small Hall, the chamber music concert “Songs of the World” will take place. The LNSO piano trio, together with the world-renowned French soprano Perrine Madoeuf, will delight audiences with outstanding examples of the chamber music genre – works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Georgs Pelecis, Lera Auerbach and Roger Quilter. This concert programme was first performed last autumn at the Great Guild and received great acclaim from audiences. (Concert cancelled; information updated 19.07.2024.)
Also at 19:00 in the Great Hall, a grand symphonic concert will take place – a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony, conducted by Andris Poga, in which the orchestra will be joined by Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Justina Gringyte and a large combined Latgale choir under Anda Lipska and Janis Velicko. Mahler’s Third Symphony is one of his most challenging compositions, both in length and in the scale of its forces. The composer himself said of the symphony: “It is a reflection of the whole world. Nature finds a voice in it and reveals its deepest secrets.”
On Sunday, 25 August at 17:00 in the Great Hall, the festival’s closing concert, “Simfo. Etno. Jazz.” will take place. The closing concert once again emphasises this year’s festival’s significant collaboration with artists and cultural groups from Latgale, featuring Liene Skrebinska (voice) and students of the Traditional Music Department of the Janis Ivanovs Rezekne Music School. The festival will also be joined by close musical friends of the LNSO, “Trio Elpo,” with whom the orchestra has enjoyed repeated and especially successful collaboration – its members are Edgars Cirulis, Janis Rubiks and Rudolfs Dankfelds. The festival’s closing concert will be conducted by Janis Stafeckis, featuring Juris Karlsons’ work “Evening Glow,” as well as a programme created specially for the festival: Janis Rubiks/Janis Ivanovs’ “Autumn Song. Paraphrase,” Edgars Cirulis’ “Bonds,” and Janis Rubiks’ “Sub(-conscious)ness.”
We invite you to follow information about special events for children, which, as usual, will be an integral part of the festival!
“LNSO Summer House” is organised by the LNSO in collaboration with Latgale Embassy GORS. The festival is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation.
Tickets can be purchased at Bilesu Paradize box offices, through the Latgale Embassy GORS ticketing system, and online. A convenient three-evening concert ticket subscription is also available.
Half an hour before the evening concerts begin, a children’s room opens, available for children aged three to seven. Admission to the children’s room is free of charge; please register in advance by phone.
For the convenience of residents of the capital, festival organisers have arranged a special “LNSO Summer House 2024” bus running the Rezekne-Riga route, departing from Latgale Embassy GORS on 24 and 25 August after the evening concerts. We also invite you to travel to Latgale Embassy GORS using intercity public transport services!
To follow LNSO’s latest news, please visit the LNSO website and the orchestra’s Facebook page.